When did you last see a well-designed Web site? One that wasn’t just great to look at, but so easy to use that you found what you wanted effortlessly? And when did you last grumble about a badly designed site having spent far too long trying – and failing – to find something? I’d love to think that there’d be more enthusiastic answers to the first question, than grouchy responses to the second. But sadly for the millions of us who waste so much time struggling to extract information from the Web, it’s bound to be the other way around. The blunt truth is that far from being visually pleasing, intelligently organized and simple to use, too many Web sites are ugly, cluttered, sluggish and brain-fuddlingly difficult to navigate.
Web sites, awful and not – International Herald Tribune
via Super Colossal Good Web Design
October 13, 2008
Category: design, electronic culture
Tags: design, findability, information, internet, website
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Botanicalls Twitter DIY: “By Brady Forrest
Botanicalls, the project that lets your plants let you know when they need water (Radar post), has expanded beyond their Asterisk-based voice system. Now you can learn how your plants are doing with a DIY kit that lets them Twitter you. The system uses Arduino, the open-source board featured in Making Things Talk. The instructions they’ve included are very detailed; this looks like a great starter project if you’ve been thinking about experimenting with Arduino.
You’ll be able to see the project in person at ETech during our Wednesday evening ArtsFest.
April 02, 2008
Category: tangible
Tags: arduino, awareness, botanic, communication, diy, Electronic Presence, energy, findability, plant, twitter, water
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WineM: “
My favorite contribution to Search Patterns this week is WineM.
Here’s an excerpt from last year’s press release:
The smart wine rack uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to track individual bottles in the rack and identifies ones that fit the users’ wine selection criteria. Collectors and restaurants can use WineM racks to search collections, track specific bottles, update information about wine in real time, and manage inventory visually…the wine in a collection can now be dynamically reorganized by any combination of year, region, price, or any other information axis that interests the collector or sommelier.
A handheld device accepts queries, and full-color LED lights transform the elegant wine rack and the bottles themselves into a search results interface. The system even supports faceted navigation. Very cool!
Strange Connections
I’m happy my disturbing hole has wormed its way into the minds of futurists.
If you’re coming to the IA Summit in Miami, please consider the IA Institute’s Leadership Seminar. An important topic and some great speakers!
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(Via findability.org (RSS 0.91).)
March 12, 2008
Category: electronic culture
Tags: bottle, cellar, findability, identify, identity, object, organise, restaurant, rfid, stock, tracking, wine
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